Making it Up to Sensei's Son
by Lucillia
Summary: Rather than finding himself in the afterlife when he'd sacrificed his life to help defeat Kaguya, Obito woke up to find himself in the past. Needing a new purpose in life, the not-entirely-reformed Obito decides to make it up to Naruto for having destroyed the boy's life the day he was born and give him the happiest childhood ever. If it costs a few lives along the way, too bad.
1. Prologue: The Plan

"Naruto wouldn't want you to. It will make him sad. This is his home, and all of his precious people are here." Obito told himself as he did his best to suppress the urge to destroy Konoha thanks to the little scene he'd just left behind. The little scene of a sad little Naruto sitting all alone in the park with nobody to play with him. Obito wasn't a good man. Not at all. But, he was trying to be thanks to Naruto who had set him on his path to recovery. Sure, things would be better, he'd be better, had he gone straight to the afterlife like he was supposed to, but here in the living world with all its temptations and annoyances like that guy who was always shortchanging him at that one dango place...

Bringing himself back on track, Obito phased through the floor of the Naka Shrine and into the not-so-secret secret meeting place of the Uchiha. There was something he had to do in a couple months, and he'd need help and resources to make sure it was absolutely perfect. Help and resources he didn't have because he'd turned the Akatsuki loose. Well, at least the ones he could trust to turn loose such as Konan and Nagato. The others had found themselves prematurely dispatched to the afterlife.

"Red team will then get in position near the South Gate." Fugaku said as he pointed to a spot on the diagram he'd brought with him as Obito entered unnoticed, as everyone was too focused on The Plan.

"If any of you want to live to see the outside of this room, those coup plans better start turning into plans for the best child's birthday party ever." Obito said cheerfully, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Who are you to dictate terms to us?!" one of the Uchiha Clan Elders who looked to be older than the village asked.

"Someone who has the Mangekyo Sharingan and can kill you all in five seconds flat." Obito replied. So sue him. He'd abandoned the Moon's Eye Plan and broke up the Akatsuki, but he wasn't a good man. Not yet anyway. He was trying but, you know, baby steps and take it one day at a time and all that.

Someone who took offense to Obito's threat got up and tried messing with him. Well, the man was due to be dead in a week, so it wasn't like his death right there and then had cut his life tragically short.

Everyone stared at the corpse that was left on the floor less than a second after the massively one-sided fight that had ended with the man's still beating heart in Obito's hand had started.

"Girl or boy?" Fugaku asked.


	2. The Ghost

Obito happily hummed to himself as he let the Genin team he'd hired to clean Naruto's apartment in. It was slightly before sunup, and the kids were half awake and yawning. Having had one of those dawn missions after pulling an allnighter, he could categorically state that they did not build character the way the sadistic Jounin who assigned them as revenge for their own Genin days claimed they did.

"Naruto is asleep right now." Obito said in a cheerful whisper. "And, if you do anything to wake him up while you're here, there'll be hell to pay!"

Two of the Genin shot jealous glares at the sleeping form on the bed that stood in the middle of the incredibly messy apartment that had until then been solely tended to by a seven year-old boy.

"I'm going to be headed out to get something for Naruto's breakfast since everything in the fridge is expired, but if I see any signs that Naruto's been disturbed..." Obito continued, grabbing the shopping basket he'd acquired earlier.

"You'll nothing." the Jounin said coldly. "You're in Konoha, where harming and/or interfering with Konoha shinobi during the course of their mission is a capital offense."

"Why should I worry about such things when I'm already dead?" Obito asked as he phased through the door to the apartment before turning around, poking his head back in and saying "Ta ta" and waving goodbye to a trio of whitefaced Genin who were covering each-other's mouths in order to prevent them from waking Naruto with their screams.

"How did you do that?" the kids' Jounin sensei hissed.

"You know," Obito said. "there are only five people who know that Minato-sensei kicked you so hard you crapped your pants during a sparring match. Three are listed as KIA and I'm clearly not you, or Kakashi."

The Jounin fainted.

"Heh, heh, that was fun." Obito said as the turned around and set out to get Naruto something nutritious to eat for breakfast. "Maybe I should play up the whole being dead bit. Who knows, it might guilt _some people_ into helping Naruto early."

After a very enjoyable hour of shopping, and after helping one elderly lady carry her grocery bags home because he knew that's what Naruto would've wanted him to do, Obito made his way back to the apartment which had very swiftly been made virtually spotless by a team of very frightened, and above all, very quiet shinobi who seemed to have enlisted the help of a passing patrol of KMPF officers.

As he entered the apartment by literally walking through the door, the groceries tucked away in his private dimension so as not to raise questions about how a ghost could get solid objects through things, the Jounin sensei, who was using all of his skill to change the sheets and blankets on Naruto's bed without waking the boy, made a gesture that caught the attention of the police and then pointed in his direction. The Police, who'd been busy pretending to scrub the stove and the kitchen counter, turned in his direction, rapidly paled when they caught sight of him, and then ran over to and dove out of the window that had been opened to let some fresh air into the apartment. The rapid thudding of their feet and the cracking of the building's siding as they put too much Chakra into their housewalking in their panic to get away was shockingly loud in the quiet apartment.

"That wasn't smart Mr. Brownshorts-sensei." Obito said in a cheerful whisper. "I may just have to haunt you the way I _haunted_ my relatives for that."

"I'm sorry." the Jounin whispered, clearly looking like he meant it. "Please forgive us."

"Refunding little Naruto for this mission will go a long way towards earning you your forgiveness..." Obito said.

"We'll be sure to do that when we make our report." the unhealthily pale Jounin said as he backed towards the door, gesturing for his students to follow him.

As soon as the Jounin was gone, Obito went, retrieved the food he'd bought for Naruto, and then started cooking it. Rather than waking up to find a bunch of strangers in his apartment as Obito half feared he would, Naruto woke up to the smells of a nice hearty breakfast being prepared for him.

"Hey mister, who're you?" Naruto asked in such an endearingly cute little voice that Obito couldn't help but go over and hug the stuffing out of him.

"I'm Obito, and I'm here to make sure nothing bad ever happens to you." Obito replied.


	3. Help Us!

Uchiha Teyaki felt unaccountably nervous as he set out from the Uchiha District he hadn't had to leave in years with a small box. Part of making the best birthday party ever involved making sure that said target liked everything that had to do with the party. His life, and the lives of the rest of his family depended on both the party being perfect, and the surprise having not been given away until the actual date and time of said party.

Being a baker, it was up to him to make sure the catering was up to scratch. It wouldn't do for everything to look fine, only for it all to be ruined because the birthday boy didn't like the birthday cake. Hence why Teyaki was leaving the Uchiha clan compound for the first time in years.

After searching around a bit, Teyaki found his target playing in the park with That Man. That Man, who had dispensed with the mask, gotten a haircut, and dressed himself up as a member of the clan who'd died a decade ago, complete with the atrocious goggles, since he'd last seen him holding the still beating heart of one of his third cousins. Nobody had a clue who That Man was aside from a Uchiha. And, all of the Uchiha should've been accounted for. As far as the clan knew, they HAD been accounted for. Until the mystery man with the Mangekyo Sharingan who'd killed one of the clan's strongest members had turned up.

"Hello!" Teyaki called to the two, trying not to seem the least bit nervous. Which was insanely difficult, considering who the Kyuubi brat was playing with, and all of the ANBU that were surrounding the pair and supervising things.

"Hello!" the Kyuubi's jailor said, looking at him in curiosity.

Hoping his plan wouldn't backfire, Teyaki went into his planned spiel about how the Kyuubi brat had been randomly selected to be the first to try a new line of baked goods that he would be having on offer at his bakery soon.

* * *

Obito did his best to bite back the jealousy he felt as he saw Teyaki open the case full of sweets for Naruto to try. Something the man who had repeatedly taken advantage of his helpful nature in order to get free work out of him had never done for him despite all of the odd jobs he had done for the tight-fisted fucker with the kind face whose hair was grey now rather than black. Any treats he'd gotten from the Senbei shop had been given to him behind Teyaki's back by Uruchi, and those had been few and far between.

Reminding himself that it was because of him that Naruto's parents weren't there to plan a completely awesome birthday party for the boy the way they had done several for him, he brought himself back under control and conjured up the guilt he'd need to make sure he'd do right by the boy whose parents he'd taken from him the day he was born.

"Wow! Can you really make it orange?!" Naruto exclaimed from over where he was stuffing himself with cake samples.

"Of course son," Teyaki said with a kindly smile that was never presented to outsiders, until now at least. "What shade would you like?"

Obito was amused by the reactions of Teyaki and the crowd that had discreetly gathered to watch what they were sure was going to be an interesting show the second the ANBU got off their asses and got involved in what they couldn't believe wasn't a rather brazen poisoning attempt as Naruto described the exact shade of orange as the Kyuubi.

"I'll see what I can do." Teyaki said weakly, his smile looking decidedly strained.

"You can do it as soon as you finish explaining exactly what it is you think you're doing." a familiar silver-haired ANBU said the instant after he'd shunshined to a spot directly behind Teyaki and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "If you're alive, that is."

* * *

Kakashi did his best not to look at the "Ghost" that had been toying with everybody all day as he shunshined out with the Uchiha who'd mysteriously decided to give Minato's son treats despite the Uchiha's unwritten law of avoidance when it came to the boy. The "ghost" had appeared at Naruto's place before dawn to let a team which had mysteriously been hired to clean the place in, made some dire threats, scared the living daylights out of the team, and had said something that had the Jounin who'd been assigned to the mission absolutely and utterly convinced that the mystery man was indeed the ghost of Uchiha Obito.

According to reports, the "ghost" had disappeared from the middle of the apartment following breakfast, and had remained gone throughout the hour that medics had run tests on both Naruto and the food that the boy had been eaten, finding both to be fine. When the man had returned, he had been dressed as an adult Uchiha Obito with what looked like scars from old crush injuries on his face.

The "ghost" who could be selectively solid when he wished had then comforted a frightened Naruto who had been left slightly shell-shocked by the treatment of the Medics. Tucked the boy into bed with a brand new-teddy bear that he'd seemingly pulled out of thin air, and then proceeded to track tdown the medics who'd treated the Uzumaki and beat them until vomiting had been induced.

Following this brutal attack in which none of the "ghost"'s opponents had managed to land a blow, the "Ghost" had headed back to Naruto's place, checked on the boy, and then proceeded to take the then somewhat recovered boy out for ice cream and then to the park to play.

It had been while the pair had been playing under the watchful eyes of the ANBU who were hanging back and surveiling the situation until they had a plan of action that the Uchiha who ran the Senbei shop in the Uchiha District had turned up with a bunch of sweets for Naruto.

Looking at the man who had taken the form that Obito hadn't gotten the chance to take was painful and, as soon as he figured out how, Kakashi was going to make the man pay for it.

* * *

"What the hell are they playing at?!" Danzo asked himself as the copy of the request for a permit to set up a bounce house in one of Konoha's most popular parks which had originated from the Uchiha clan had turned up on his desk.

This was the fifth such odd thing today, with the first being a request for reservations at a restaurant that was very popular with small children which had been turned down due to the fact that the restaurant was closed on the date requested. October 10th.

Closely examing the request for clues as to the intentions behind it, Danzo noted a message written in a code that had been used by the Sarutobi Clan prior to Konoha's founding in Fugaku's precice hand.

After carefully decyphering the code, Danzo found himself utterly mystified by the message.

What the hell was "Help us, he's insane!" supposed to mean? Who was insane, and why was Fugaku, who had been gung-ho about taking over the village just the day before asking the Hokage whom he'd betrayed for help dealing with this mysterious him?


	4. Playdate

Fugaku had been drinking tea on the porch and reading a progress report on the party preparations that the clan had been roped into in order to keep an S-Class shinobi from indiscriminately killing members of the clan at a time when everyone was needed while Sasuke trained. He had been reviewing the figures for the proposed refreshments budget when he had heard a startled yelp. Looking up, he found That Man holding his son who was futilely trying to attack him in order to free himself. As he rose, preparing to do battle to possibly futilely protect his child who'd probably die before he reached them, his eyes shifting from their three-tomoe Sharingan to something he'd been hiding for a while now which had been held in reserve for the final stage of the Coup, That Man smirked and made a handsign that indicated he wasn't there to fight.

"Don't worry Fugaku-dono. I'm just taking Sasuke for a playdate. He'll be back in time for dinner." That Man said as he shifted Sasuke into a position that was meant for easier carrying.

That Man whom Fugaku hadn't fought the night before because he'd been caught by surprise, had no idea of the man's true capabilities, and the gods only knew how many of his clan would've been killed during the struggle if he had. That Man whom Fugaku was humoring because his abilities and capabilities were as yet unknown due to the fact that the Mangekyo tended to be a bit of a random S-Class grab-bag, and the entire clan was the hostage in this case. The second That Man finally slipped up however...

"And, who or what is this 'Playdate' with?" Fugaku asked, having mentally noted that the man had not stated that his second son would be safe during said playdate or that the boy would be alive and unharmed when he was returned "in time for dinner".

"Why, Sasuke's bestest friend in the whole wide world for going on two lifetimes now." That Man replied.

"And, who is this person who's supposedly 'Sasuke's best friend'?" Fugaku asked, knowing that the closest thing his son had to a "Best friend" was his older brother. While the boy did interact with other children, none of them had ever stood out enough to be considered for that title.

"Well, if the Sage of the Six Paths is to be believed..." That man said as he pointed at the Shodai's face on the Hokage monument. "He goes by Naruto now though."

Fugaku felt like burying his head in his hands and groaning, which would be an utterly stupid move considering the fact that there was a dangerously insane indivdual on his property holding his son who he was apparently taking to go play with the Kyuubi Jinchuriki with whom he was strangely obsessed for some reason. Considering the brand of crazy That Man was, he should never have expected anything resembling a sane answer from him.

"Now, I'll just be taking little Madara here..." That Man said as he turned to leave for parts unknown with his child who was apparently being taken to play with the Uzumaki whether he wanted to or not.

"His name is Sasuke." Fugaku found himself pointing out.

"Sasuke, Madara, same thing, they're both Transmigrants of the Sage's elder son." That Man said dismissively. "Never did get that whole thing to tell you the truth. Just remember Naruto and the other one waking up from the dead with new tattoos and a major power boost and saying something about how they'd been the Sage's kids in a previous lifetime and how Hashirama and Madara used to be too before they died."

"You're claiming that..." Fugaku started. He didn't get a chance to finish, because That Man continued talking.

"Which of course begs the question of exactly how both Hashirama and Madara could be summoned with the Edo-Tensei while Sasuke and Naruto-kun were still alive. Unless, the Edo Tensei had siphoned off some of their Chakra and all of their previous life's memories and...But, then Madara came to life..." That Man said, apparently lost in his own world, not even noticing Sasuke squirming and kicking in his attempts to be free.

"Oh well, whatever." That Man said, dismissing whatever deep metaphysical subjects he was pondering. "Have to get Sasuke to Naruto. They're best friends you know. Of course, if I'd had a best friend like Sasuke, I would've killed him ages ago, before he got a chance to punch a hole in my chest."

"But, then again, what am I saying?" That Man said. "I pushed a complete asshole out of the way of a boulder at what I was sure was the cost of my own life, gave him one of my eyes too, and he goes and repays me by murdering our other teammate."

"Why," Fugaku started, not even believing he was about to suggest this given the potential fallout, but considering that That Man was edging into dangerous territory and looking like he might change his mind about keeping Sasuke alive to play with the Jinchuriki... "Why don't you bring Naruto here instead? Mikoto would be happy to have him over for dinner."

That Man turned and gave him a sharp look, his Mangekyo focused on him. In each eye, a different pattern. One of them matching the description of Uchiha Madara's "Eternal Mangekyo".

"Itachi told me about how you were going to be the one to rip the Kyuubi out of Naruto in order to control it during the Coup." That Man fairly growled. "Only way I'd ever bring Naruto _here_ would be over your dead body. And, possibly your wife's."

Fugaku's moment of shock over That Man's knowledge of _that_ part of the plan apparently gave all the opening That Man needed, because That Man turned and Shunshined away with Sasuke. When Fugaku went after That Man an instant later, it was to find that That Man was nowhere to be found at what should've been the Shunshin's endpoint considering That Man's trajectory.

Sasuke was gone, and Fugaku's only hope of seeing his son alive again was that Sasuke would keep the Jinchuriki entertained enough that That Man would allow him to live long enough for a second playdate.


End file.
